The team has returned safely from the Amazon.  We visited 8 villages during our 5 days along the Amazon. One of the 8 villages was a new village and was untouched by the gospel. As we ministered to each village, we song praise-worship songs, Richar presented a bible lesson, and we feed the village a meal.  There were 2 professions of faith and many seeds planted.  In 3 villages, we were able to administer some medical needs by providing some medications on a case by case need. The team also focused on evaluating how we can further extend more medical attention to these areas in future mission trips to the Amazon.

As we have come this far, the team wants to thank you for your continue prays. They did not go unnoticed.  All 10 members (both Peruvians and Americans) returned safely and unharmed except for the small critter bits.  God´s hand was seen in all aspects of our trip this week and it is only through your faithfulness in interceding in praying.  We look forward to sharing a full report upon our return to the church.

Continue to pray for the team as we start our journey back to DFW.  Also, keep the Peruvians (Richar and company) in your prayers as we leave them behind in continuing our joint effort in reaching the lost along the Amazon.  We leave in the morning for Lima and should officially be back in DFW on Monday, 8-24, mid-morning.  Give all glory and praise to God!!! 

Kim Slovacek and the Team

Julia texted the following message from Pebas.

Great visit in Santa Lucia! The curaca’s (chief’s) wife accepted Christ. Held deep Bible study with the women and good teaching to the leaders.

Good visit to Piri. Off to Mangual and San Francisco next.

Explored new river and made a good contact.

All are healthy. Great teamwork. The Lord is at work!

Today was productive… Pastor Richar took us to the open air market where we met up with his mother-in-law, Estel, Ivan and Aladino.  Grocery shopping Peruvian style is a multi-sensory experience!  A few things on our shopping list:  hammocks, 30 pounds of potatoes (picked out by hand) and probably twice as much rice.  Estel will be cooking for the team this week and she knows how to shop! 

We enjoyed a great home cooked meal at the Nelson´s (Jeremy and Crystal) and had some great fellowship time  with some of their friends from their home church in VA (They just finished a volunteer trip in the mountains) along with Leah (a nurse with the Extreme Team– I was able to talk medical with her, which was great!) and Mindy, a Journeyman from Lima.  It was a blessing!

Tomorrow we will be at Pastor Richar´s church and then we are “hitting the river”!  Our first stop will be the village of Apayacu.  This also happens to Ivan´s home village. 

Please, pray for safety, continued health, rest when needed, the peruvian families that are staying behind for the week, sensitivity to the Spirit, and the hearts of  the Yagua!  

Good night from las Amazonas!

Amy Harless and the team

All have arrived safely in Iquitos!  The team is rested and is happy to see many familiar faces.  After meeting Jeff Holeman in Lima and delivering suitcases of supplies for fellow missionaries, we got on the flight to Iquitos.  The first day was spent resting and shopping for the medical supplies we are taking to the villages.  We attended a church service with both congregations we are serving with at Pastor Leopoldo´s church.  Jake Glover preached a wonderful message in Spanish and was well received!  The progress on the new Seminary is wonderful.  Much work has been done since March and is now 2 stories tall.  They are very excited to have Bible classes going as the construction continues. 

  Today we have been able to shop for the food and hammocks  we are taking with us to the jungle.  The crowded and busy markets are quite a cultural experience!  We will be spending the evening with a new missionary couple in Iquitos, Jeremy and Crystal Nelson.  As Jake and Dodie Glover prepare to move here in the fall, they are needing to find housing and establish new relationships, so this time has been a blessing for their transition.

  Thank you for your continued prayers.  We will attend Pastor Richar´s church in the morning and board the boat to Apayacu. Our brothers and sisters in Christ send their love!  Please pray for travel on the river, continued health, good communication and open doors!

In Him,

   Julia Laing and team

After enduring 4 flights and 34 hours of travel, the team is home. There were no major hitches in our flights or luggage handling, so we are very thankful to God. There are so many things to be thankful for on this trip including the faithful prayer warriors back in the states, our supportive church staff, and our loving families.

We will do a short report on this trip during the Sunday evening service at Wedgwood Baptist Church on March 29th. We will also try to have a full hour or so reserved in an attempt to cover more details of the trip. Detailed trip reports, pictures, etc. will also be placed on the team web site at www.reapwbc.org.

!A Dios Sea La Gloria!

We woke up early this morning and caught the 6:50 am flight from Iquitos to Lima. We bought breakfast  at McDonalds, made a run to the mall that has a great view of the Pacific and did some shopping for all our friends and family back home.

As the “team coordinator”, I am taking the liberty to add some somewhat comical comments about this outstanding group of people. I can imagine a better group of folks to travel with.

Despite Cody’s blatant disregard for humanity to support his team coordinator, we all had a good time.

Stewart was finally cut off at the ATM. It was a sad site to watch him get the insufficient funds message, but he has enough Peruvian items to start his own Peru souvenir shop in Fort Worth.

Lindsie is still swooning from the love letter she received last night. He gave her a bracelet and she gave him her sweaty bandana.

Blake has tripped over all over Peru. He’s still mastering his adult-size feet.

Robert and Stacie survived the week and are still married.

Julia improved her farmer’s tan and gained an appreciation for the police bureacracy in Iquitos.

Marcelo (Mijo).  Maintained his composure while translating for 9 Americanos and almost having his clothes traded for piranha jewelry.

This male-oriented team took on some interesting facets. (Can I use that word in relation to men?) We have purchased enough weaponry to equip a small battalion. We ate all of our food and most of what the ladies didn’t eat. Although verbal communication is not a male strength, these guys made great strides in building relationships with the men in the Peruvian churches.

And finally, Paul was Paul.

See ya’ll tomorrow,

Jeff

YEEHAW, EH?!?!?!?!

After a day doing our last bit of shopping in Iquitos, we took the team to the “zoo”. Robert Adams screamed like a woman when they put the Anaconda on him! Stacie wanted to take the monkey home. Cody, Blake and Stewart seemed drawn to the sloths. They are really cool.

Tonight was a culminating service with all the people in the church’s we’ve been working with. There was probably 250 in attendance and what a service. Great singing, powerful praying and a good message from Robert. After the preaching, the entire church ate together. They then brought the Americans to the front of the church and the entire body sang “Friends Are Friends Forever” in Spanish. What an emotional bonding time this was! Every member of the church then visited each of us wishing a good travel and blessings.

Pray for us as we leave very early in the morning, 5:00 am from the hotel, to catch a 6:50am flight. We’ll spend the day in Lima doing more tourist stuff and preparing ourselves to re-enter the “modern” world.

Thank you for praying us through this trip. It has truly been an incredible experience.

We had our third crime incident this afternoon. There is more occurring on this trip because we are spending more time in Iquitos and this is a low season for tourists so we are a “target”.

On the way back from the construction site, a man on a motorcycle reached into the moto-taxi with Julia, Lindsie and Stewart. Julia was in the middle and was holding her purse. The man grabbed her purse and zoomed off.

Little did he realize that our taxi drivers are also brothers from the church. One of our brothers, Aldo, pursued the culprit and single-handedly apprehended him. Right now, Julia and Marcelo are at the police station identifying the guy and hopefully picking up her purse. She didn’t have anything of value in the purse but it is still is nice to get it back.

For the Mom’s back in the states, your boys are really safe. These are just some of the difficulties that exist in ministering in impoverished areas.

Pray for tonight’s service which will be with the men of the church. Robert is preaching on how men should have each other’s back. Brother Aldo will be used as an example as our Peruvian brother came to our aid during the robbery.

Thursday (3/19) was a day full of opportunities to minister here in Iquitos. We started the day with construction work on the class room building at Monte de Dios Church. We had to bail water out of the construction site, move sand and dirt with wheelbarrows, carry bricks, and hone our skills on “palas” or shovels as they are known back in the states. We also assisted as they built the forms and poured 3 columns with concrete.

There were 10-15 Peruvians working with us throughout this time. Many of the leaders were emotional as they are seeing this building take shape. This is an answer to many years of prayer and it is an honor for us to be a part of this effort.

Our worship time with the women was refreshing. Over 50 attended and we didn’t have to endure any rain. Stacie Adams gave a testimony on honoring God from a woman’s point-of-view.  Robert’s message was on being less so that Christ can become more.

We had some minor physical issues today and need prayer for strength to continue our work on Friday. Pray specifically for Paul’s back, Stacie’s stomach, and various aches and pains due to sunburn, insect bites, and sore muscles.

On Friday, we will continue the work on the building and tonight’s worship will be with the men of the church. Pray for Robert and those who will give testimonies.

Thanks for all your prayer!!!!

Despite having to walk about half a mile through torrential rainfall and trudging through muddy streets, we had a wonderful time of worship with the youth from Leopoldo’s church. Over 30 youth weathered the storm and it was a blessing to worship with them.

Robert Adams gave the sermon. Lindsie Adams sang a solo. Blake Adams, Cody Williamson, and Stewart DeForde all gave a testimony about God.

Tonight’s service is for the women of the church, but first we must work.